Music pulsated from the busy bar located on a lonely stretch of road. A few drunken men stood around outside, fumbling around as they slurred out words to one another, all of them laughing every now and again. The sign was neon pink, flashing every few seconds. The moody bouncer stood at his post, his face still and straight, his jaggedly scarred knuckles on full display in case people got too carried away with themselves.
"How are we even going to get inside?" Lorenzo asked, his eyes shifting from the rough-and-tough bouncer to the huddle of drunk and vicious looking bikers that were being obnoxiously loud.
"You," Mia said, glancing over to Lorenzo, "will go through the front. Just get yourself in and sit near the two doctors we're after. Me and Daniela will go through the back posing as dancers. Once we get them distracted, you go find the codes and then get back to the car."
Daniela nodded, seeming completely un-phased by the plan. Lorenzo could feel his heart picking up, he could sense himself becoming slightly terrified of what they were about to do.
"Gesu Cristo, so many things could go wrong here," Lorenzo fretted, leaning back against the seat, ignoring the fact that his knee was shaking intensely signifying how nervous he was.
"Lorenzo, I need you to keep it together," Mia said as she placed her hand on his knee, giving it a small squeeze, "this plan rides on us working together and doing our part. Just remain calm and we'll get out of there without any issues."
Lorenzo knew that his cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of red, his eyes staring directly at Mia's hand that was still on his knee. He fought back the smile that was trying to appear on his face, but his eyes betrayed him, the excitement in his pupils could light up a room.
"You ready, Mia?" Daniela asked.
Mia nodded her head. "Let's do this, quick and easy."
All three of them exited Daniela's car. Mia and Daniela pulled off to the side as Lorenzo stalked up to the bouncer, trying to damper any signs of nervousness or intimidation. Mia and Daniela headed around the back, ignoring the perverted whistling and howling coming from a few of the drunks that were huddled together.
Lorenzo fumbled around in his pocket to get his ID out. He grabbed it and pulled it from his pocket, holding it up to the bouncer. The bouncer, who's face had yet to change from its cold expression, took the plastic card from Lorenzo's slightly shaking hand. He held it close to his face, lowering the black sunglasses that covered up his eyes.
The bouncer's eyes glazed over Lorenzo, who just offered a crooked smile in return. Giving a grunt, the lean bouncer handed back his ID and moved to the side, nodding to the door.
"Knock yourself out, kid," he said, his voice raspy yet masculine.
"Grazie," Lorenzo replied, stepping past him. He pushed open the doors and the muffled music hit him like a brick wall, along with the thick smell of sweat, alcohol and sex.
He looked around and saw many tables, all of which seemed to be occupied by burly men that were chugging large glasses of alcohol while enjoying the company of the exotic dancers that worked there. He knew he wasn't there to have a good time and ogle the gorgeous women, but he couldn't help himself staring for a few seconds at the three women that passed him in the five seconds he had been there.
Pulling himself out of his fantasies, Lorenzo began looking for the two men in the photograph that Raffaele had supplied them with along with some other information. He scanned the bar, his eyes passing from the scattered stages of dancing women to the crowded tables that were placed all around the bar, but he couldn't see any sign of them.
That was until he set his eyes on the bar ahead and saw both men together, huddled in close together as they spoke. Lorenzo breathed out loudly before walking straight for them, weaving his way through the clumps of men that had littered themselves everywhere.
Lorenzo reached the bar, standing next to both targets. He discreetly looked over to them, listening into their conversation. He was expecting to hear them talking about an evil agenda, but he was surprised to hear them giggling to one another as they talked about which dancers they found most attractive. Their words were sort of slurred and Lorenzo felt himself ease up more; it was going to be a lot less scary and a lot easier to get the codes now knowing that both were drunk.
"Can I get you a bevuta?" came the voice of the bartender, startling Lorenzo.
"I'll just have a bottle of Morena, please," Lorenzo replied. He didn't really want a drink at all, but he knew that it would look odd if he didn't order a drink.
The bartender nodded before whisking away to the collection of bottles and glasses. He returned a few seconds later with an ice-cold bottle of one of Italy's signature beers and a glass.
"Grazie," Lorenzo thanked, giving the bartender a small half smile before picking up the bottle, taking a big swig of the beverage. He felt a small burn at the back of this throat but ignored it.
The upbeat booming song changed to a more, sensual song that in turn changed the way the dancers moved; instead of moving around energetically, they slowed their movements, circling the stages they were on, their hands lingering on the poles. Some swayed their bodies and flipped their hair, captivating most of the men that were watching.
Lorenzo looked back over to the scientists and saw that they were both mesmerised by two new dancers on the stage closest to them. But when he squinted, he saw that the dancers were Mia and Daniela, dancing in a very seductive way.
Mia moved around the stage, gripping the pole before slowly spinning herself around, not taking her eyes away from the scientists who were staring right at her. She glanced over to Daniela, who gave her a nod, as if she knew exactly what she was thinking.
Mia then turned back to the men and nodded her head towards the door that had a sign labelled 'PRIVATE ROOMS'. Lorenzo quickly realised what they were doing and so he leaned in close to the men, eager to help along with their idea.
"I think they want you boys," Lorenzo said, forcing a playful smile onto his face.
"I think you're right, mio amico," the one closest to him drunkenly said back, a smirk playing up on his lips. He shifted from his seat, pulling his friend along with him who seemed just as eager. "Mind watching our things?"
"You got it, buddy," Lorenzo smiled, raising up his bottle and titled in their direction before taking another swig.
The drunken man held his thumb up as they walked after Mia and Daniela, leading them to the private show rooms.
Mia pushed the door open and moved to the side, letting Daniela and the two scientists follow in after her. She shut the door, discreetly locking it after them. The men stumbled over to the sofa and observed both Mia and Daniela. Daniela pressed a button on the music player and the same sensual song began playing.
They danced around the room, not breaking eye contact with either of the men. As they grew closer and closer, exposing themselves to the pink lights above them, Mia saw one of the scientist's expression change in a split second; it went from turned on and intrigued, to more observant and alert, and Mia really didn't like how it changed. She prayed that Lorenzo would hurry and find the codes.
*
Lorenzo glanced around him, wanting to make sure that everyone seemed to be distracted before he got to work. Once he was sure, he leaned into the scientists' bags and dipped his hand in, rummaging around quickly. He found receipts, empty wrappers, an empty plastic carton that had a foul smell seeping from the cracked open lid. He shoved it to the bottom of the bag and noticed a small opening to the side. He reached his hand in and pulled out the plastic card. He could fist bump when he saw it was the man's ID. He unclipped it from the set of keys it was attached to and slipped into his pocket. He then moved over to the bag and quickly found the other man's ID and took that one.
He looked around and was relieved to see that no one had been paying attention to him; all of the men seemed to be watching five women who were prancing and sliding about the biggest stage, and the skimpily dressed waitresses were to busy running back and forth, giving out drinks and receiving tips and cheeky gestures.
Lorenzo turned back to the bottle and downed the last portion of it, already feeling the alcohol running through his veins a little bit. He pulled out the correct amount of Euro's the beer cost and slid it over to the bartender, who didn't seem at all interested in the women dancing, but Lorenzo eluded that to the fact that he probably knew the women and had worked with them for quite some time.
He got up off his seat and headed for the door, pulling his phone out of his pocket and typed out a text to Mia, letting her know that he had done his part and that they could get out of there.
*
Mia remained wary of the observant scientist; she kept dancing the way she had been, but she was moving in a way that would make things easier to get done if everything went south. Just as the song changed to a more upbeat, loud and pulsating one, Mia felt her phone buzz against her thigh. She held up her finger to let them know she'd be a minute before giving them both a flirty smile.
Turning away from them, she grasped her phone and looked down at the text.
GOT THEM. WE CAN LEAVE NOW.
Mia sighed in relief. She slotted her phone back where she got it and moved over to the music, cutting the track off. Daniela and the men both looked over to her; she could tell that the man who had been observing her looked more and more alert with each second, unlike his friend who seemed more disappointed than anything.
"Mi dispiace, gentlemen, but I'm afraid our time is up," Mia said, offering them a girly, flirty smirk.
Daniela got the gist of what was happening, turning over to the men and winking at them before hurrying over to the door. Mia unlocked it and emerged from the room, not daring to look back at them. Daniela closed it behind them and both she and Mia quickly worked their way through the busy bar, heading to the backstage where other dancers were getting ready.
"I think one of them may have recognised us," Mia whispered to her as they walked.
"Shit," Daniela cursed, glancing back but saw no one following them, "let's just get out of here."
"Agreed," Mia replied.
They pushed the door open, walking past the dancers' backstage who didn't pay them any mind, each of them too wrapped up in conversations with each other as they got ready for their shifts.
They reached the exit and promptly left the busy bar, shutting the door behind them. As they turned the corner, they ran into two muscular, intimidating men who seemed to have been waiting right there.
Mia and Daniela took a step back, looking the men up and down. Mia quickly worked out that they must've been some sort of guards for the scientists, which also means that they had been caught.
"You scared us," Mia said anyways, hoping that they would buy the innocent act she was trying to play.
"Girls like you," one of the men said, stepping forward, "are always getting into trouble."
Mia sighed, glancing over to Daniela, who had a fiery glint in her own eyes.
"I really thought that was going to work," Mia complained, and in a swift move, she kicked the man directly in the chest. He dropped to the ground with a groan.
The other man charged for them, taking a swing at Daniela with a sharp looking object. Daniela moved out of the way just in time, before elbowing him in the face with no mercy. He stumbled back, a little in shock. The man on the floor dragged himself up before throwing his arms around Mia's torso and slammed her into the wall.
Mia let out a hurt grunt as she felt a stab of pain erupting in her back, stunning her. The man held her there before landing a punch into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her.
Daniela was quick to swing herself onto the armed man's shoulders and quickly wrapped her personal garrotte around his neck and yanked it tightly, pressing her knee into the back his neck while her other leg kept her up on his body. He gargled and thrashed, desperate to free himself from Daniela's lethal hold, but it proved pointless as he fell to the ground. Daniela unwrapped the wire from his neck, revealing a bright red line all around his neck.
She then looked over to Mia and saw the other man about to land another punch directly into her face, but she moved quick and wrapped the wire around his face, stopping him. He glanced back and growled at her. Mia took the chance and lifted her knee up into his chin, hard and fast.
"Puttana!" The man shouted angrily as he stumbled back.
Mia went for him, blocking the lazy punch he tried to throw at her. She grasped his wrist and twisted. He cried out in pain just as an unpleasant crack burst into the air. She dropped his wrist and grabbed him by the jaw, forcing him to look directly at her.
"This puttana just owned you," Mia whispered menacingly and in one quick movement, she snapped his neck, watching him fall to the ground with a hard thud.
The women looked at one another but said nothing; they were both breathless from the fighting. They then turned away from the dead men and took off, heading around the building and going straight for Daniela's car.
They quickly slid inside, and Lorenzo noticed that something was wrong. He looked back and forth between them, wondering if they were going to say anything.
"What happened?" Lorenzo asked nervously.
"We ran into a few goons, but they're taken care of," Mia said, pulling off the uncomfortable jewellery she had on.
"Are you OK?" Lorenzo then asked.
"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Mia said, giving him a smile. She winced as she settled back into the seat, tugging at the outfit she had on.
"Are you sure?" Lorenzo asked again.
"Yes, Enzo. Now drive, we haven't got all night," Mia replied, nodding forwards.
Lorenzo looked over to Daniela who seemed to be in a world of her own as she examined the ID's that Lorenzo had stolen from the men. She seemed satisfied with them as she placed them down on the dashboard and unclipped her hair from the bun it was in, letting it fall down to her shoulders.
Lorenzo started up the car and pulled away from the bar, driving down the empty stretch of road, listening to the game talk that Daniela and Mia had started. He was worried about his brother and he was worried that they may never be able to stop whatever conspiracy was going on. There was so much at stake and they deeper they got, the more dangerous it became for them.